When Al Horford returned to Boston ahead of the 2021-22 season, it was hard to imagine that the veteran center would play for anybody other than the Celtics for the rest of his career.
That thought continued after Horford played a key role in the Celtics capturing the NBA title last summer for the first time since 2008. But the new CBA has proven to be costly for teams that go for it, and every title team has to pay a price - whether literally (with the second tax apron) or figuratively (by cutting bait with key rotational players).
